da wazamba： The first Test match I listened to was the Brisbane Test in1954
V Ramnarayan15-Sep-2001The first Test match I listened to was the Brisbane Test in1954. Len Hutton won the toss, put Australia in, and Englandgot beaten by an innings, after the baggy green caps scoredmore than 600.Incredibly, England swept the series thereafter. An avidEngland fan then, I was transported to seventh heaven by theacts of derringdo of young Colin Cowdrey and elegant DenisCompton, but more than the efforts of any other individual, bythe fantastic fast bowling unleashed by Typhoon Tyson.Later, as this love at first hearing became a full-blownpassion, it became both a challenge and an adventure totwiddle the knobs on the old valve radio at home to get BBCjust right and listen to Test Match Special. The wordpictures of EW Swanton and John Arlott were as vivid as themost spectacular camerawork of Channel Nine today.Yes, we all followed Indian cricket on the radio. Somehow, itwas never so exciting, for two reasons. One, India was not thestrongest Test outfit of the day, and Test matches tended tobe one-sided affairs in which India usually got thrashed.Secondly, the standard of Indian radio commentary was nothingto write home about. Almost every ball was ‘a well-flighteddelivery’ and batsmen usually ‘played forward.’ Not untiltransistor radios at cricket grounds exposed the gap betweenthe cricket on view and the commentator’s version of it, didwe realize that perhaps the men behind the mike did not enjoythe best view of the game.That was the time when newspaper reporting of Test cricket wasarguably at its best. Some fine writers covered Test matches,Jack Fingleton of Australia, the best known of them, and theywere not hampered by having to write on events the reader hadalready watched ball-by-ball on TV, and still make itinteresting. For a young cricket fan, nothing was more eagerlyawaited than the morrow’s newspaper account of a Test match.What was left unsaid was often as exciting as what was said,and filling in the gaps through mental pictures of yourfavourite hero was one of the pleasures of following cricketin different parts of the world. For example, Fingleton’saccount of the first tied Test in history was perhaps moreevocative and thrilling than any footage of the game.Today’s splendid TV coverage has brought in millions of newcricket enthusiasts, who are able to acquire a fair amount ofcricket knowledge thanks to the stunning visuals and theobservations of some of the great cricketers of our times. Itis wonderful to be able to observe from behind the bowler’sarm the science and art of our foremost bowlers and batsmen.To watch the acrobatic fielding feats of the best of our timesis no less thrilling.Cricket coverage by the worldwide web is perhaps the mostpersonal connection you can have to the action. Here, not onlycan you listen to or read the expert opinion on the day’splay, you can also tell the world what you think of it all. Itis already a superb source of cricket data and pictures aswell as a treasurehouse of all manner of cricket trivia. Thepotential for comprehensive coverage and scientific analysisis huge, and so is the scope for getting insights into whatmakes your favourite stars tick.